Chris the versatile engine
by J0hn D33r3
Summary: Meet Chris, a new engine on Sodor. He may be new, but he enjoys being really useful and dependable. Follow his adventures as he learns to be a good friend.
1. Chris Cross

A new engine had arrived on Sodor. He was a green and yellow LSWR M7 named Chris, and he puffed over the Vicarstown bridge to meet Sir Tophman Hatt at Suddery Station. "I'm here, sir! Am I on time?" Chris cheerfully puffed.  
"Right on time, Chris. I am Sir Topham Hatt, the controller of the railway." There at the station was Edward, who had just arrived at the station with some coaches. "Edward, this is Chris. Your job for today will be to take him to Knapford station and show him how to shunt trucks and coaches." Sir Topham Hatt boomed.  
"Right away, sir!" Edward puffed, cheerfully. He was uncoupled from his coaches and the two engines puffed into Knapford Station. It was the busiest station on the island and therefore the busiest. Engines were quickly puffing about with trains of trucks and coaches in and out of the station. Suddenly, a big, blue engine thundered by, proudly whistling,

"Express coming through!" This startled Chris, and he asked Edward,

"Who is that?" Edward replied,

"That, Chris, is Gordon. He is a very important engine who sometimes can get a little too big for his buffers. Don't tell him I said that."

"I won't." Chris replied. Soon, the two engines were hard at work. Edward was teaching Chris a lot about the troublesome trucks.

"Take great care with trucks, Chris. They like to cause mischief." Edward warned Chris. The young engine was having fun playing with the trucks. He would sneak up behind them and give them a bump, and they would go rolling into a set of buffers.

"Oh! Ow!" They cried. Chris didn't really pay any attention to Edward's warning. He was too busy having fun in the yard.

"Are you even listening?" Edward snapped as Chris bumped and bashed the trucks around the yard.

"Oh, yes! The troublesome trucks can be very mischievous. I'll try my best to keep them in order!" Chris said, confidently.

"Very well then. I've arranged a train of trucks for you to take to the depot in Vicarstown." Edward puffed. In no time, Chris was puffing down the line.

"Ah, it's great to be an engine, steaming along the line!" he chortled to himself. However, the troublesome trucks were in to kill Chris' vibe.

"It's terrible to be coupled behind an engine like you!" giggled a truck. The other trucks howled with laughter as Chris continued down the line.

"Be quiet!" Chris snapped at the trucks. When they reached the top of Gordon's hill, they then played their tricks.

"ON! ON! FASTER! FASTER!" They screamed. The train surged down the hill and flew down the line. Chris' driver applied the brakes, but they were no good.

"Help! HELP!" Chris wailed as he was thundering down the line, out of control. A signalman diverted the runaway train onto a siding. Chris braked hard, but the trucks' momentum caused them to derail. Chris was still on the rails, but the trucks had come off of the tracks and blocked the other line. Edward arrived with Rocky to clean up the mess, and Sir Topham Hatt was also with him and was annoyed.

"I told him, but he didn't listen!" Edward told Sir Topham Hatt.

"Chris, I understand you are new to my railway, therefore you have a lot to learn. It would be in your best interest to heed the advice of engines concerning matters such as this." Sir Topham Hatt said, Sternly.

"Yes sir, sorry sir." Chris said. Soon, Chris was back at work, and is learning how to be a really useful engine.


	2. Chris Takes a Stand

One day, Duck was at work with 'Arry and Bert, the smelters' yard diesels. Most steam engines didn't like working with them. They were naughty and played tricks on them. Duck shunted some coal trucks into a siding when a crane was lifting an old flatbed car onto a pile of scrap. The chains holding it could barely take the weight, and the operator was being careless as he swung the load over the tracks. "Look out!" his driver cried. Duck tried to reverse, but it was too late. The chains snapped and then the flatbed plummeted to the ground and landed with a crash, right onto Duck. Luckily, no one was hurt, but Duck was severely damaged. His cab was nearly flattened and a sizable dent could be seen on his boiler. Soon, Chris arrived with Rocky to clear away the mess and Duck was taken to the Steamworks to be repaired.  
"This accident has caused confusion and delay. Chris, I would like you to return here tomorrow and help the diesels." he said, promptly.  
"Yes sir!" Chris answered. 'Arry and Bert were there as well and they saw an opportunity for mischief. The next day, Chris arrived at the Smelter yard to pick up where duck had left off and he eagerly got to work shunting trucks around the yard. As Chris was taking a drink from a water tower, Arry and Bert rolled up to him.  
"'Ello, Chris. Come to learn a thing or two from those who know?" Oozed Arry.  
"No, I'm just here to work until Duck gets back from the Steamworks." Chris answered.  
"You steamies are unbearably naive." Bert greased.  
"Just stay out of my way. I'm not your plaything. I've heard the stories from James and Percy." Chris snapped.  
"What stories?" Bert quizzed.  
"Nothing 'appened. They're going bonkers in the smokebox." Arry said. Chris fumed away to get back to work. The Diesels then realized they would have to be creative if they wanted to have their fun with Chris. Later that day, Chris was pushing some trucks of slag to the tip point. Slag was the waste metal from the smelting process, and it had to be carried away. These trucks were different, as they were small with four wheels with a large pot that contained the slag, held up by two joints on each end of the car. Workmen cranked large handles on the sides of the cars to tip the pots, where the hot slag poured down the bank. Chris winced at the heat of the slag, and just as he was about to reverse and get some more, Arry and Bert played their tricks. Arry pushed a line of empty coal trucks behind Chris, playing their 'piggy in the middle' trick on him which James and Percy had been the butt of once. Chris tried to keep this from getting to him, but he meant what he said to the diesels. Later, Chris was pulling a line of flatbeds loaded with steel ingots. He reached a set of points, where Bert pulled some empty slag cars in front of him, blocking the points. He tried to reverse, but then Arry pushed some cars behind some points he had just crossed.  
"Got you again, silly steamie!" they chuckled. This made Chris very angry as he blew a cloud of steam out. Finally, Arry and Bert played their final trick on Chris. The little engine was coupled to some coal trucks on a siding, where the diesels waited. They were coupled to the trucks as well. When Chris started off, Arry and Bert told the trucks,  
"'Old back! 'Old back!" The silly trucks giggled and cackled as Chris strained to pull the trucks. The train jerked forward, but then Arry and Bert pulled back. Chris then knew who was bothering him.  
" **YOU DIRTY DIESELS! LEAVE ME BE!** " he roared in fury. He then jerked back into reverse, which startled Arry and Bert, then they crashed through a set of buffers along with some trucks and onto a heap of scrap.  
"You silly engines! You've caused confusion and delay!" shouted a workman. Harvey and Rocky arrived to clean up the mess, and Chris felt very sorry for himself, but it wasn't he who would be punished. Just then, Duck puffed up. He had been repaired after his accident, and with him was Sir Topham Hatt.  
"Please, sir, I didn't mean to cause confusion and delay." Chris whimpered as a tear streaked down his cheek. Sir Topham Hatt replied, sternly.  
"I heard everything. The diesels played tricks on you and I shall reprimand them as such, but know this-you, too acted irresponsibly. I expect engines on my railway to behave professionally and maturely."  
"Yes sir,.Sorry sir." Chris said. Sir Topham Hatt then turned his attention to Arry and Bert.  
"As for you two, I am most displeased with your behavior. You have caused confusion and delay. I do not tolerate bullying on my railway either. Perhaps I shall send you two to the Dieselworks and allow Boco to take your place.  
"We were only 'aving fun!" Arry whimpered.  
"I shall not allow any engine to bully another on my railway either." Sir Topham Hatt said. Chris learned a lot from his experience, and now is learning how to control himself in hopes of becoming a really useful engine.


	3. Spring Break

It was springtime on the Island of Sodor. There would be lots of holiday makers to keep the engines' coaches full and the line would be very busy. Chris was very busy taking a goods train to Vicarstown. When he returned to Tidmouht sheds to rest, Sir Topham Hatt came to see him. "Chris, we are in need of another engine to help pull passengers from Knapford to Brendam. Will you be willing to help us?"

"Oh, yes please!" Chris said with delight. Chris had never pulled coaches before. The next day, he arrived at Knapford Station with three shiny new coaches. The passengers boarded the train and the conductor blew his whistle, then he was off. He sped down the line, feeling the wind across his dome. He blew his whistle as he delightfully chuffed down the line. However, the passengers were not enjoying themselves as much. They were being jostled about as Chris rode rather roughly down hills and around corners. One little boy almost lost his lunch! When he arrived at the station at Crovan's gate, the passengers were relieved the ride was over.

"Have a nice day!" Chris puffed cheerfully, but the passengers were not appearing to have had a good ride. That night, Sir Topham Hatt went to speak to Chris, and was rather concerned.

"Chris, I have received some complaints from passengers from your train today. While I am aware you are not accustomed to pulling coaches, please take care! The reputation of the North Western Railway is at stake!" Sir Topham Hatt said.

"Yes sir." Chris replied. The next day, Chris returned to the station to pick up another train of passengers. When he was about to pull off with his train, Chris noticed a woman with a rather large bump on her belly. He was perplexed. "What was the matter with her?" He asked himself. The guard's whistle blew, and he started off slowly, then gradually picked up speed along the line. He braked down hills and slowed at curves and his passengers were comfortable. After he stopped at Knapford station, a man and a woman frantically got out of one of the coaches. It was the woman with the large belly bump and her husband, too.

"Please! my wife is with child! Take us to Dryaw Airfield! She'll give birth any minute." the man said.

"Right away!" Chris' driver replied. The man helped his laboring wife into Chris' cab, then he was off to the airfield. He raced as fast as he could along the line. The woman groaned and wailed as she was nearly about to give birth. She griped her husband's hand

"Quickly!" he shouted. Chris pulled into Dryaw station, where Harold the helicopter was already waiting. The expectant couple was rushed to a hospital on the mainland. A few days later, they came to see Chris with their new baby boy. Sir Topham Hatt was very pleased.

"Thanks to you, my wife delivered a healthy son. Such a splendid railway!" The man smiled to Chris.

"Indeed, your actions are quite commendable, Chris." Sir Topham Hatt.

"That's what I'll name him! I'll name our son, Chris!" the woman said, and everyone was happy.


	4. Temper Tantrum

It was a sunny day on the Island of Sodor as Chris puffed along the main line with a heavy load. He was going along nicely as his wheels gripped firmly, he was puffing properly, and the tracks were smooth. However, the troublesome trucks were going to make sure it didn't stay like that. Although he was used to trucks, they still tried to get a reaction from him. Some of them bumped him. "Stop that!" He shouted at them. Instead of stopping, they bumped him even harder. Chris tried not to take notice, but they were being very naughty. As they approached Gordon's Hill, they held back, putting on their brakes. "Come on! Come on!" Chris growled, trying to hide his anger at the trucks. He miraculously made it to the top, but then there was trouble. The trucks then shouted "ON! ON! FASTER!" and the train plummeted down the hill. By now, Chris was seething with anger at his trucks. He was late to collect them, and if he wasted any more time he would be later still. "STOP THAT AT ONCE!" he roared at the trucks, then he slammed his brakes on so hard that the coupling to the trucks broke behind him, then their momentum caused them to smash into Chris' bunker and derail across the line. This made James very cross.  
"Oh! First my coaches and now a temper tantrum! I'm surprised that Sir Topham Hatt still keeps you here!" he snorted indignantly. Thomas brought Rocky to clean up the mess, and along with him was Sir Topham Hatt.  
"James has told me that you need to control your temper, Chris. Until you can learn to manage your temper, you will shunt in the yard." Sir Topham Hatt said, sternly. Later, Chris was indignantly shunting in the yard.  
"Control my temper, It was those trucks that made me so angry!" he fumed. Then, Rosie puffed in.  
"Hello, Chris! What's the matter?" She asked him. Chris was too angry to answer as he bumped some flatbeds of oil hard enough to spill some onto her. She then puffed away, sobbing. Justin had seen everything  
"That was very rude Chris! What did Rosie do to make you do that to her?" He spluttered as he was uncoupled from his coaches. Chris angrily pushed a rake of empty hopper cars as he pouted  
"I'm angry! Sir Topham Hatt says I need to learn how to control my anger before he lets me pull trains on my own again! As if I need anger management!" he snorted as he bustled about the yard. An idea flew into Justin's funnel.  
"Tiny bubbles..." he sang. "In my tea makes me happy! It fills me with glee!"  
"Tiny bubbles in my whey, makes me happy! It makes me feel gay!" Duck chimed in. The engines in the yard hummed along to Justin's tune, all of them but Chris.  
"WOULD YOU ALL BE QUIET!" he shouted, then as he shunted some trucks they passed over a faulty switch and derailed. Chris had once again let his anger get the better of him. Sir Topham Hatt was indeed displeased with him.  
"You will go to your shed, where you can not do any more damage than you have already caused. I hoped you would learn to control your temper here." he scolded the M7. The next day, Chris sat sadly in his shed as he watched all of the other engines huff and puff by, all happily pulling trucks and coaches. They could all control their tempers, but why couldn't he? His best friend Thomas then came to visit with a train of trucks from the quarry. Chris was depressingly dozing in his shed when a blast of his friend's whistle roused him from his sleep.  
"Wake up, lazy bones!" He chuckled.  
"Leave me be. I'm a disgrace to Dugald Drummond's memory." Chris groaned.  
"Don't say that! You're a really useful engine, just like all of us here." Thomas said, trying to cheer up his friend. Chris was still sad at all of the confusion and delay he had caused, and it was all preventable if he hadn't lost his temper. "Tell you what, I've got an important train to collect from Vicarstown tomorrow. I'll see if I can get Sir Topham Hatt to let you collect it." Thomas said. Chris did want to be useful, and their drivers talked to Sir Topham Hatt. The next day, Chris was on his way to Vicarstown to collect Thomas' special train. When he arrived at the depot, a train of box cars full of sports equipment were waiting.  
"These cars of sports equipment need to go to Ulfstead Castle." the station master informed him. Chris was coupled up and he was soon off down the line. The troublesome trucks had heard from their friends that Chris had gotten into trouble over his temper and tried to tease him.  
"Look out, give a shout! An angry engine's puffing about!" they giggled, but Chris took no notice. He felt a little angry, but then he asked the trucks,  
"Did you hear about the engine who lost his left cylinder and rod? He's all right now!" It took a minute for the trucks to catch on, and when they did, they all laughed with Chris and not at him. He kept telling jokes the trucks, and they were too busy laughing at them to cause any trouble. Because of this, they arrived in record time. Sir Topham Hatt greeted Chris, cheerfully.  
"Excellent work, Chris. You've really redeemed yourself."  
"Indeed, Sir. With timing like that, We may need another engine to help run my branch line!" Thomas suggested.  
"Now there's an idea, Thomas!" Sir Topham Hatt said. "Then it's settled. Chris, you can work with Thomas, Percy, and Toby on the Ffarqhar Branch Line."  
"Oh, thank you, Sir!" Chris said, thankfully. Now, he is a really useful engine helping Thomas, Percy, and Toby, and controls his temper much better now.


	5. Ghost Ship

The wharf was drawing down for the evening as boats and barges came in to dock and offload their cargoes. Drew, Chris, and Justin were sent with loads of stone, timber, and oil to the wharf and shunt at the yards overnight, then return in the morning with empty trucks to Knapford Junction. When they arrived, Skarloey met them.  
"Hello, Chris, Drew, and Justin. I see you are here to help out. You can drop those loads off by the keyside and there are some trucks that need to be organized." he said.  
"Thank you, Skarloey. We'll be on it." Drew replied. The three engines left their loads on the key and went to work around the wharf. Chris shunted some wagons around the yard, while Justin took a rake of vans to the other end of the keyside, and Drew could be seen shunting conflat wagons around the key, while Rheneas, Freddie, Peter Sam, and Rusty all were puffing in and out of the wharf, coming to and from the transfer yards. By the time the engines decided to take a break, the sun had long since set. A full moon shone through a cloudless sky as Drew, Chris, and Justin took on some water alongside the narrow gauge engines. At about that time, Arthur pulled in with fish for the Crovan Kipper, and taking this train was Rheneas. Arthur looked up a the sky.  
"Oh my, this reminds me of a story." Drew was intrigued.  
"Tell us, Arthur, please!" she pleaded. Arthur's eyes shifted as he said,  
"Oh no, you couldn't handle it!" Arthur said.  
"It's probably nothing." Chris scoffed.  
"Oh it isn't nothing, it's...something!" Arthur said, dramatically. Drew was nearly about to bounce off of the rails with excitement.  
"Tell us! Tell us! Tell us!" She whistled excitedly.  
"Just tell her, Arthur. I don't want to get caught in the explosion when her boiler goes critical." Justin muttered. Arthur relented as he began his story.  
"This is an old seafarers tale I picked up from some fishermen at Norramby Harbor. The scariest part of it is that it's all true!" Drew, Chris, Justin, Rheneas, Skarloey, Peter Sam, Rusty, Freddie, and Sir Handel all listened closely.  
"Long ago during the war, a hospital ship full of wounded soldiers was just about to dock in this very wharf on a cold night, when the moon was full!" Arthur murmured. A brisk gust of wind blew, sending a chill through all of the engines' frames.  
"It was nearly into port, when lurking below the water was..." Arthur said.  
"A shark?" Chris interrupted.  
"No." Arhtur answered.  
"A dolphin?"  
"No."  
"A mermaid?"  
"No."  
"Lurking below the water was A U-BOAT!"  
"I knew a U-Boat when I piloted at Southampton!" Drew said.  
"Not that kind of U-Boat! A German Submarine!" Arthur said, raising his voice. The engines were suddenly terrified. Chris, however, rolled his eyes in disbelief.  
"The U-Boat slithered into position and fired a torpedo, then BLAM! the ship exploded, all hands lost, and every night, when the moon is full, you can see the ghost ship with the spirits of its cargo trapped aboard sailing in to dock, but it never does!" Arthur finished. The other engines faces were white as sheep, but Chris wasn't impressed.  
"That's boiler sludge! To quote Ghostbusters, I ain't afraid of no ghosts!" Chris smirked, confidently. Justin, Drew, and the narrow gauge engines all eyed each other, mischievously. Rheneas then left with the Crovan Kipper while Arthur took his vans to be washed out and to collect some empty ones to take back. The engines of the wharf then got back to work. Justin, Drew, Skarloey, Rusty, Peter Sam, Sir Handel, and Freddie all gathered while Chris was working.  
"We're going to give Chris a good spook!" Drew told them. Before she could continue, the victim of their trick passed by with some trucks.  
"What are you talking about?" Chris asked her.  
"Don't poke your funnel where it doesn't belong!" Rusty said. Chris chuffed off, rolling his eyes as he blew off steam. The engines continued their plan to get back at Chris for spoiling their fun. Chris was later reversing into onto another line with some vans when an eerie moaning.  
"OOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" came a voice. Chris paid no attention. On the other side of the vans, Rusty was making the noises into a barrel for the spooky effect. Later, he was shunting some sand wagons onto the keyside when clouds of smoke suddenly appeared. A barge covered in grime slipped through the mist. Across the wharf, all of the engines were blowing smoke across the water while the barge came into view, then ghostly voices were heard. Ghostly wailing and screaming could be heard across the wharf. Chris was suddenly starting to get a little scared.  
"We have come to haunt you! You did not believe our story! You have disgraced our memory! You shall pay! YOU SHALL PAY!" the voices roared. Clouds then gathered and covered the moon. Chris then puffed away as fast as his wheels could take him, the trucks trailing behind him.  
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" he wailed as he sped out of the wharf. Justin, Drew, and the others all emerged from the smoke and steam, all laughing raucously. The next morning, Justin and Drew went to see Chris. He was about to collect some passengers from Knapford Station. They then moaned  
"OOOOOHHH!" Chris jumped with a fright as they then rolled up alongside him.  
"We got you good last night!" Justin chuckled.  
"You should have seen the look on your face!" Giggled Drew.  
"I wasn't scared! I just had to get back to the junction quickly!" Chris said, defensively.  
"And the Worsdell F5s were efficient coal burners! I could see the rivets on your frames standing on end!" Drew retorted. Chris was rather embarrassed about this incident, but knows that Arthur's story was just a story. Or was it?


End file.
